STONE HARBOR – A representative of the Fraternal Order of Police, the police officers union, has urged the town to pay attention to a building problem in its Police Department: The officers have now gone 13 months without a contract.

At the Jan. 21 meeting of the Borough Council, Spencer Smith, the representative, said the last contract expired in January 2024. Smith sought a commitment from the council to begin negotiations on a new agreement.

But borough attorney Anthony Bocchi told the members of the council not to engage in an exchange on the issue, since he said the matter is something best left to the borough’s labor counsel.

Two months ago another union representative, flanked by 10 officers, told the council that members of the force felt a lack of respect and were suffering financial hardship because of the borough’s unwillingness to begin negotiations.

He pointed to the fact that some officers, without a pay increase, were subject to what amounts to a pay cut due to rising costs for health care coming from the state. The council was asked to give officers the same commitment that the officers give to citizens.

At the Jan. 21 meeting the request was that the council affirm that the borough will engage in good-faith negotiations in March. The request elicited no response.

The department saw the exit of its chief in 2024, an event that ended with no ceremonial goodbye but rather a negotiated separation and mutual agreement not to sue each other. The chief, Thomas Schutta, left the department in November. Under the agreement he is being paid through his actual retirement date of Feb. 1.

There has been no public discussion of a process to replace the chief.

Recruitment has been difficult for the department in recent years, especially as it plans for augmenting staff during the summer. The council may be placing its hopes in a state consulting group from the Local Assistance Bureau that was brought in to consider ways of reducing costs and better organizing public safety functions.

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.